Customer Reviews

Scrapped Princess - Family Ties (Vol. 1) + Figure in Display Box

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Anime, like many other forms of entertainment, is heavily riddled with cliches. Insert huge eyes and sharply shaped figures here, goofy humor there, plot-replacing fight scenes here, and voila! you have an anime series.

Scrapped Princess is one of those series that stands out from the rest. It has charm and a simple elegance that, combined with a reasonably complex plot, beats out just about any other recent fantasy series out there. Personally, I find every component of the series to be perfect.

Story- Scrapped Princess has no filler episodes. Every episode, while some may initially seem unimportant, is a vital piece of the story. The show does a fantastic job of creating a whole bunch of story elements and characters during the first half of the show and then throwing them around in the carnage that is the second half. Part of the reason why the story is so expertly told is that the series is based off of novels rather than manga. I would give a synopsis of the plot, but others here have done that, and I personally recommend watching the show knowing as little as possible.

Animation- The art style in this anime captured my attention before the story even had a chance to unfold. The character design and use of color are quite captivating- no slouch here. I might add that the action scenes, while usually brief until the last few eps, are very crisply animated.

Characters- Another great strength for Scrapped Princess, all of the characters in Scrapped Princess are very likeable- even many of the villains. The emotions, for once, seem very real, and at times, you almost forget you're watching animation. There are a couple of humorous characters, but the humor is clever, kept in check, and very well executed.

Score- The music in Scrapped Princess is fantastic; it's good enough that I often listen to it alone both for its beauty and to remember the anime (good soundtracks often evoke memories of their source material). The music is largely responsible for the epic feeling the series puts forth.

I don't actually buy much anime because it is so expensive, although sometimes I rent licensed stuff I haven't seen. I will make an exception for Scrapped Princess, though. I'm chomping at the bit to get the entire series, box and all. While I wish animes as mature and well-written as this were the norm rather than the exception, I am grateful that such a fantastic show exists at all. Don't miss this one!

Like Magic Knight Rayearth, Scrapped Princess is a sword and sorcery adventure. Like Ayashi no Ceres, it's the story of twin heir and heiress - one charmed, and one cursed. Pacifica, the central figure, is the cursed "Scrapped Princess". An unflattering title, but accurate, Pacifica is the poison that will destroy the world. Supposedly killed at birth, but now fifteen years old, forces of society and law everywhere are after her to destroy her before her sixteenth birthday. She runs from them and fights against them with two protectors, Shannon and Raquel. So are things presented to us, however things are not as they seem.

The basic premise of the plot isn't something new really, I've seen it used many times before, but what really makes this anime stand out is how the plot is presented. I came into the show without having seen any spoilers, and that is really how it must be done, so I'll be really careful about how much I say about it. Essentially the viewer starts off blind, just like the characters do, and the plot is slowly revealed, so the viewer experiences it the same way that they do. Scrapped Princess is one of the best written anime series that I've seen yet. Besides excellent plot and character development, it's also intelligent and thought provoking about various roles that people have in society and some functions of society itself. I read somewheres that this anime was taken from a large manga work of 12 volumes and that a good amount of material wasn't included in the anime. If this is so, I'll really have to get my hands on this manga to read all of the details for myself. I would highly recommend this series for any serious anime fan.

I was beginning to think this show would never come out. It came out in Japan at the same time Last Exile did. Anywayz...

Its a show about a girl who is prophecied to bring about the world's destruction on her 16th birthday. She is supposedly executed at birth but is secretly hidden. It is now the eve of her 16th birthday and she has been discovered to be alive! Now the whole country is out to kill her. It is up to her step brother and sister to protect her but they wonder if they are really doing the right thing.

This was an awesome show. Very well thought out, with lots of crazy twists. It is WAY more than a typical fantasy story. Its got lots of humor and touching moments. Lots of action and excitement. Its a good watch and I can't wait to pick it up again!

It revolves around a girl name Pacifica Casull, born into the royal family of the kingdom Leinwan, and then abandoned. The 5111th Grendal Prophecy said that she was the "poison that would destroy the world" upon her 16th birthday. As a consequence, she was dropped from a cliff as an infant. Nevertheless, she survived, and earned the name "Scrapped Princess" because of her fate.

rated 13 older: violence and brief nudity

Pacifica Cassul just wants to be your normal fifteen year old in a Middle Ages type world, attending school and hanging out with friends. Except everybody in the world wants to kill her because she was prophesied to destroy the world on her sixteenth birthday. Well, ALMOST everyone, because she has two staunch allies, her adopted brother, Shannon, who has no equal with a sword, and her sister, Raquel, a ditzy but formidable sorceress. The trio doesn't really have a clue as to where they're going. Where can they run to? The priests of the god Mauser have sent commoners, knights, assassins, and the even more deadly Purgers to seek Pacifica out and destroy her. Even with all the forces working against them, a quixotic knight named Leopold, unaware of the identity of Pacifica, befriends them along the way, and even one of her assassins begins to question the validity of his mission.

This is a good start to what looks like a terrific series. Pacifica is demanding and cranky without being annoying and Shannon reminds me a lot of Spike from Bebop and Raquel seems harmless at one point then deadly then loving all wrapped up in the same package. That's what I think Scrapped Princess is going to be about in the end. Siblings loving one another even though it might bring about the end of the world. Even though Pacifica herself wonders at times if it just might be for the best if she WERE dead. There's something very human about the fact that she feels guilty about all the trouble she's causing for the world. And there's something touching about the fact that her brother and sister will have faith in her until the last possible instant, that the prophecy might be wrong. The only thing I worry about is that the show might degenerate into a last couple of episodes of Pacifica remaking the world and fighting for her identity a la Evangelion or Rahxephon or Escaflowne. I hope the creators keep it on a understandable keel. As for now, it seems a model of simplicity. Let's hope it continues that way. If you like adventure, comedy, and a little poignant drama, check this out.

The only extra on here is a textless opening. Wow. And the same 3 Bandai trailers that have been on their company's dvds for about a year now.

I was beginning to wonder what the heck happened to this anime. It came out the same time Last Exile did in Japan. Last Exile's been out over here for a while now. Anywayz...

The story goes...

a set of twins was born, one of them was forseen to bring about the destruction of the world on her 16th birthday. She was supposed to be executed but turns out she wasn't. Now its the eve of her 16th birthday and its been discovered that she's still alive. The whole kingdom is out to kill her. She only has her step bro and sis to protect her but even they have doubts about whether or not they're doing the right thing.

This show has many twists and turns and is full of suprises. Have fun guessing the genre! Another great thing about this show was that it had a really good ending tying up all the loose ends. It doesn't just end abruptly like many animes. Overall this was a great show and I can't wait to see it again!

Scrapped Princess is an example of an anime masterpiece. It has everything an anime lover could want: Magic, cool sword fights, hilarious situations, suspense, and a little romance. If you're bored of all the cliche anime shows then you should check out Scrapped Princess and here are the reasons why:
The characters in Scrapped Princess are fantastic. This show is filled with multi-faceted, complex characters which is very refreshing. The plot is phenomenal. It keeps you on the edge of your seat and carries you throughout every episode making it impossible to ever feel that the show is sluggishly moving along. The music in this show is also great. I have to admit that I have the theme song "Little Wing" on my Ipod and listen to it constantly. The background music is also great. The animation in this show brings to life beautiful, sweeping landscapes and the special effects for the magical elements are also to die for. I would give this anime a million stars if I could. Its on of my top 3 favorites and I could watch it over and over again and still be amazed by it. I highly recommend this show to both males and females.

This is definately not a simple story of good and evil. That air of uncertainty helps to give this story a degree of charm that one rarely sees in animation. Pacifica Cassul is a very complex heroine, at times bratty, and others times very thoughtful. The relationship that she has with her siblings, Shannon and Raquel, is every bit as rocky as one would expect from people in such a circumstance. Each one of the characters has to deal with question of how far they'll go to protect the life of someone who may or may not cause the end of the world.
This dvd introduces the characters and sets up the story. It finds our party trying to stay ahead of their pursuers, but unfortunately bringing the wrath of both the military and the church on a small town. The animation is very good, and the music is superb. If I have any complaints, it would be that the translation from Japanese to English was not quite up to par. This was especially evident comparing the subtitles to the spoken words, where the subtitles actually made better sense than what was said.
That said, I highly recommend this story; for its complexity; for its beauty; and for its charming combination of the love of one's siblings, and the fight to change destiny.

While I love this series, I can see how the Editorial Review by Charles Solomon turned out so dismissive and negative. He obviously watched the series with the English language soundtrack, and this has colored his opinion of the whole series. In the English dub, the character of Pacifica comes across as whiny, shrill and annoying. She is far more sympathetic sounding in the original Japanese voicing.
The actor chosen for the English language dub is simply terrible, sounding like some caricature of a bratty, spoiled suburban American child. While the character of Pacifica IS a bit spoiled, in the context of the series this is understandable - she is a little princess, after all. As the series goes on, her character softens, and you find yourself wanting to protect her, just as her adoptive brother and sister have done.
This is a terrific series, and I highly recommend it - but avoid the English language soundtrack, and watch it in Japanese with subtitles.

The first 2 episodes have poor picture quality while the latter 2 episodes are better. Why ? Having experienced the fansub version of the series I was expecting very good picture quality so this was a bit of a nasty surprise. Through noise reduction and sharpening (not forgetting color correction too!) you can get the picture quality to an acceptable levels but I thought that the idea of DVDs was to get rid of these kind of things. Oh well, if you intend to collect the entire series (like me) then you'll have to live with this but my expectations concerning picture quality were higher than what I received. Let us hope that the rest of the DVDs will show an improvement.